The New York TImes reports today that Hillary Cinton's supporters are threatening to withhold donations to the DNC if Howard Dean does not "resolve" the issue with the Michigan and Florida delegates to their satisfaction.
The situation in Florida seemed more intractable, with Clinton supporters arguing the party’s prospects in November could be jeopardized if a satisfactory resolution is not found. Some Clinton backers said they were intentionally withholding their contributions to the party, arguing that Howard Dean, the D.N.C.’s chairman, has left the situation in the hands of the states and the candidates, as opposed to exercising leadership to resolve it.
"My wife and I could max out, and we won’t," said Ira Leesfield, a Miami lawyer who has given $61,500 to the committee since 1997. "We’re dissatisfied with the D.N.C. not taking the bull by the horns."
About 250 top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton met Wednesday in Washington. Terry McAuliffe, the Clinton campaign’s chairman and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, encouraged the donors to pick up the phone and call party leaders, as did Mrs. Clinton.
But Mr. McAuliffe said in an interview Friday that he did not approve of donors’ holding back their contributions to the D.N.C.
A review of records filed with the Federal Election Commission shows that top donors to the committee gave more to Mrs. Clinton than to Mr. Obama. Of 196 people who have given at least $30,000 to the D.N.C. since 2005, it appears 71 of them contributed to Mrs. Clinton, with donations totaling more than $295,000, while 67 gave to Mr. Obama for about $189,000. And 25 gave to both.
Let me be clear here the Clinton supporters have every right to do whatever they want with their money. My issue here is that they are trying to push the party's boss around and also hurting the party more by having this fight in the press.
Stacie Paxton, spokeswoman for the DNC makes a point and tips us to what Dean may be thinking:
"While Howard Dean has been working hard to be an honest broker, too many involved have been more concerned with headlines than results," Ms. Paxton said. "It’s never productive to negotiate through the press, but make no mistake, Howard Dean will continue to lead the effort to find a workable solution that’s fair and consistent with the rules."
Let me translate. What she really means is:
"While Dean has been working his ass off to do this in a honest way, you bastards have been using every dirty trick in the book to get your way. It won't work and the fact that you've drug out into the NYT speaks volumes. We won't forget this jackasses."
The whole article can be found here